Saturday, October 24, 2009

(14) - The Second Third Man

I read an interesting tidbit this morning. For those of you who don't know I'm a big movie fan. Since Freshman year in high school I've had an interest in not only watching movies (something I've always had an interest in), but in making them and what goes on behind the scenes. I've taken numerous film courses through high school and college and keep up on my current movie news every day. Well the tidbit I read has to do with my 23rd favorite movie of all-time (this list fluctuates from time to time, but the top 10 is pretty unbreakable). I read this tidbit on Joblo.com - http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=29230.

The Third Man by Carol Reed was made in 1949 and it starred Orson Welles. It should NOT be remade. I repeat: NOT be remade! This movie is a classic, and although Hollywood is in love with remaking classics, this is one of those that shouldn't be touched. Much like Casablanca, Citizen Kane or The Godfather, this movie is too good to even attempt anything as dumb as this.

For those of you who haven't seen this classic, here is the plot summary courtesy of IMDB.com: An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime.

The two leads apparently attached are Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio (I presume DiCaprio would play Welles's character Harry Lime). And while I like both of these actors, the latter especially has become a great fun to watch on screen, this movie is too good. They don't have a director yet. The screenplay is to be written by Steven Knight who wrote Eastern Promises. I'd be curious to see who the director is, but at the same time not because this movie should just go through time without even being discussed as a remake.